(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) - An official with the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board is asking that the city take over the cost of operating Conseco Fieldhouse.

According to a story in The Indianapolis Star, Board Vice President Pat Early says that the Indiana Pacers are losing about $30-million dollars per season and can no longer afford the $15-million dollar annual operating cost of the Fieldhouse.

Early is urging the board to take over the cost of running the Fieldhouse to protect the health of the Downtown Indianapolis economy. He says that the team has lost money in all but two of the 28 years that the team has been owned by the Simon Brothers.

Early adds that the team has not threatened to leave Indianapolis, but there is a chance that the team will be forced to move or fold if the city does not assume the operating costs of the Fieldhouse.

The CIB currently runs Lucas Oil Stadium and Victory Field in Downtown Indianapolis.

Pacers Sports and Entertainment Vice President Greg Schenkel tells The Star that team is working with the CIB to find solutions.

The board is currently dealing with a $20-million dollar budget shortfall this year.